{"id":27024,"date":"2020-07-16T17:50:57","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T21:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=27024"},"modified":"2020-07-16T17:51:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T21:51:03","slug":"family-rejection-is-leading-cause-of-lgbtq2s-youth-homelessness-in-york-region-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/family-rejection-is-leading-cause-of-lgbtq2s-youth-homelessness-in-york-region-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Family rejection is leading cause of LGBTQ2S youth homelessness in York Region: study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Family rejection is the leading cause of homelessness\namong LGBTQ2S youth in York Region, according to a first-of-its-kind study\nreleased last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding LGBTQ2S Youth Homelessness In York Region\nis a study led by Dr. Alex Abramovich of the Centre for Addiction and Mental\nHealth (CAMH), aimed at examining the specific needs and experiences faced by\nyoung members of the local LGBTQ2S community experiencing homelessness with a\ngoal to help develop policies, programs and practices that address their unique\nneeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was carried out between December 2018 and October\n2019 and brought together input from 42 participants across York Region,\nincluding 33 youth at-risk of \u2013 or currently experiencing \u2013 homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery young person\u2019s pathway into homelessness is\nunique, complex and often caused by numerous factors,\u201d found the report. \u201cThe\nmajor pathway into homelessness identified by youth participants was family\nconflict, which included LGBTQ2S identity-based family rejection. Youth\nreported a variety of reasons for family conflict, including abuse, mental\nhealth issues, and alcohol and substance abuse problems. Additionally, over\nhalf of the youth interviewed reported previous involvement with child\nprotection services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the study, the average age at which\nparticipants first left home was the age of 18, although nearly 30 per cent of\nparticipants reported leaving home at or below the age of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA 13-year-old was couch surfing \u2013 they weren\u2019t in a\nshelter, but they were sleeping on friends\u2019 couches,\u201d says Dr. Abramovich.\n\u201cThis is a common experience in York Region, which makes [the issue of LGBTQ2S\nhomelessness] much more hidden. Young people have violence, abuse and conflict\nhappening in their households, they can\u2019t live at home but they don\u2019t want to\ngo to a shelter because they don\u2019t feel safe or stigmatized. When they end up\ncouch surfing\u2026it creates a real invisibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he carried out the study, Dr. Abramovich says he was\nsurprised at how \u201cchallenging\u201d it was to recruit participants. When he and his\nteam conduct studies like this, they work with community services to reach\nyouth and give youth the opportunity to meet the team before they have an\noption of signing up to share their stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere, our criteria was quite specific,\u201d he explains.\n\u201cYoung people had to have been homeless or at risk of homelessness in York\nRegion, we had a specific age range, they had to identify as LGBTQ2S, we went\nto all the services and we found nobody was signing up. It was really tough for\nyouth to come forward and be willing to speak with us. We knew they were there\nbut they just didn\u2019t feel safe or comfortable for whatever reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt became pretty obvious to us very quickly there were\nissues around LGBTQ2S identity disclosure and non-disclosure. They just didn\u2019t\nfeel safe coming out is another way of saying it. Many of the youth were going\nto services but they didn\u2019t come out as LGBTQ, so staff didn\u2019t know, they felt\nprotective and they felt afraid in many cases. I even had a young person follow\nme out of the service and didn\u2019t want anyone to know they were speaking with\nme. They really didn\u2019t want anyone to see that happen and it was clear to me\nthere were a lot of issues around stigma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with 360 Kids, a major partner of the study, the\nteam was eventually able to reach a good number of LGBTQ youth from the Region\nand the stories they shared were both powerful and harrowing.
\nOne 16-year-old participant said when they came out, their mother\u2019s response\nwas to say, \u201cI made her sick to her stomach and that she wants to throw up\nbecause of me, and I put her under so much stress she wants to kill herself\nbecause of me. It was heartbreaking and I didn\u2019t feel safe at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 19-year-old participant said they too didn\u2019t feel safe\nliving at home with an \u201cLGBT-phobic\u201d father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t agree with it, he thinks LGBT people are\nlike, perverts or disgusting or mentally ill, or that it is not real, or it\u2019s a\nchoice. And my mom seemed to be \u2013 she put on this mask that she was supportive,\nbut when I came out as a trans man, she basically just said, \u2018That\u2019s not real,\nthat\u2019s not true, that\u2019s not who you are,\u2019 and \u2018I don\u2019t agree with it. I don\u2019t\nagree with you medically transitioning.\u2019 She kept\u2026manipulating me and kind of\ngaslighting me into believing that I\u2019m not trans. I can\u2019t be in this type of\nenvironment. I have to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These stories were \u201cheartbreaking,\u201d said Dr. Abramovich\nand they stayed with him throughout the course of the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think about many of these young people and really hope [this study] will implement change,\u201d he said. I feel it is really important for parents and families to understand just how much these issues impact young people and how severe these issues are. Parents should read this report and take some time to reflect and understand how harmful those words are.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to better address the issues facing LGBTQ youth\nin York Region, the study makes a number of key recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topping the list is forming a standardized model of\nservice delivery across York Region that is LGBTQ2S inclusive. All housing\nprograms and support services, they say, should emphasize inclusion with a\nstandard intake process, questions regarding chosen names, pronouns, and gender\nidentity on intake forms, ensuring services all-gender washrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Population-based housing options for LGBTQ2S youth should\nalso be made available in ways \u201cthat are not segregated by the gender binary,\nincluding emergency shelter beds, transitional housing and supportive housing\nprograms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LGBTQ2S-inclusive drop-in programs should be supported to\nprovide a place for youth to meet and support one another while enjoying\nmentorship and life-skill-building opportunities and cultural programs;\nexisting services should expand outreach; and youth-serving agencies should\nsubsidize travel costs for youth seeking them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is recommended that youth-serving agencies develop\nprograms that emphasize prevention and early intervention,\u201d they conclude.\n\u201cFamily reconnection should be initiated with supportive family members when\nappropriate. Family reconnection programs should promote awareness and LGBTQ2S\ninclusion by providing families with the tools and resources necessary to\nsupport youth when they come out. Additionally, it is recommended that\norganizations work with schools and GSAs to support LGBTQ2S youth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the study is done, the next step is making sure\nthe study brings about results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis took a long time and a lot of resources; now we\nhave the answers, the list of solutions and recommendations, so what happens\nnow?\u201d said Dr. Abramovich. \u201cChange happens by working closely with community,\nworking closely with key stakeholders, with government. There are so many\ndifferent levels of stakeholders who have to be involved in this process. It is\nnot just working with one or two services, it is working across the Region with\nmultiple services and working with government to implement these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read the full study, visit www.homelesshub.ca\/resource\/understanding-lgbtq2s-youth-homelessness-york-region<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Family rejection is the leading cause of homelessness among LGBTQ2S youth in York Region, according to a first-of-its-kind study released last week. Understanding LGBTQ2S Youth Homelessness In York Region is a study led by Dr. Alex Abramovich of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), aimed at examining the specific needs and experiences faced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-71S","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 12:06:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27024\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}